There are presently in use a number of different types of coil carriers for handling metal tubing of the type used for automotive brake lines and fuel lines, refrigeration heat exchangers and coils, and like applications. Many are expensive and complex. Some stack and others nest, but insofar as applicant is aware none are capable of both. Certain known carriers require separate strapping of the coils disposed thereon, and others are of such a configuration that they are not usable with conventional conveyors, such as roller conveyors. Furthermore, in the coiling of tubing it is a conventional practice to coil the tubing as it is fabricated on a first type of coil carrier using an automatic coiler, and thereafter transfer the tubing from the first carrier to a second type of carrier for testing shipment and storage. Subsequent processing by the tubing customer often requires additional transfers of the tubing to yet different carriers.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a relatively simple and lightweight coil carrier of universal application which overcomes the aforesaid disadvantages of known prior carriers, including providing a carrier which is capable of cooperating with a conventional automatic coiler to receive coils of tubing or the like as they are formed and thereafter carry them through all subsequent testing, shipping and storage phases, as well as through at least the initial operations performed thereon by the tubing customer, whereupon the carrier may be returned to the tubing manufacturers for reuse. A related object resides in the provision of coil carriers which are relatively lightweight, which may be stacked on one another in a stable fashion, whether loaded with coils or not, and which also may be nested with respect to one another, loaded or unloaded, thereby facilitating economical storage and shipping by requiring a minimum of space and handling. Another related object resides in the provision of such a carrier which is ideally suited for an automated coil handling system.
A further object of the invention concerns the provision of a coil carrier adapted to receive a single coil of tubing or the like, thereby eliminating the need for the separate strapping of individual coils.
Yet another object of this invention resides in the provision of a coil carrier which may be readily transported on most conventional conveyors, including roller conveyors, thus greatly facilitating coil handling.